***Okay. Um. So this chapter is almost 4500 words. Forgive me, but it HAD TO BE DONE!

Get ready for lots of plot/the occasional Easter egg. And some Coliel mixed in there. And a tiny bit of Jaya, but it's mostly Jay worrying LOL

Also, there is no set song for this chapter. I just scattered a bunch of sound effects throughout. I'm sorry for all the cheesy audience laughter effects, but I couldn't help it LOL

https://youtu.be/YrhCpMagabU

***

***(Cole's POV)***

"All right, team," Lloyd says. "I think our only option is to track down this Cliff Gordon guy and see if Nya's hiding out with him."

We're all currently regrouping inside the jet after visiting Ronin. Kai and Skylor arrived about half an hour ago, so they're now traveling with us to the police station.

We did research on what connection Nya might have to Cliff Gordon, but we never found one. I have a feeling Jay knows, but he's been really quiet – like, quieter than his depressed kind of quiet – since we left Ronin's.

Zane frowns. "I suppose that we must pay Mr. Gordon a visit. However, he was a famous actor from ten years ago, and he will probably not take keenly to us showing up uninvited."

"It doesn't matter," I put in. "If Nya's with him, we could get a search warrant for his house, and – "

Lloyd interrupts me. "That's good thinking, Cole, but there's a problem. The police probably aren't going to take a newspaper Ronin found laying in his floor and use that as viable evidence for a search warrant."

"Fair point." I look at Jay. "Anything you want to tell us, buddy? I thought you realized that it's better if we find Nya than for her to get into trouble. No offense, but it sort of seems like you're withholding information."

"I, uh, believe Nya's better off with us, too," he swallows. "And...um...I haven't told you guys..."

"Oh, what now?" Kai exclaims.

I shush him. "Now's not the time for accusations. Jay, what haven't you told us?"

He bites his lip. "You all know that I'm adopted, and that I met up with my birth mom back when we were fighting the Sons of Garmadon."

"Yes." Kai facepalms. "And somehow, you failed to mention until yesterday that in order for your mom to come back to Ninjago, Wu had to transport himself to another realm."

"I thought Nya told you," he argues.

"Well, she didn't. So now, as soon as we find my sister, we're going to have to send a rescue mission out to find Sensei Wu."

Zane clears his throat. "Before he left, our master told me that he did not want us coming after him. He was afraid of the consequences."

Kai throws his hands in the air. "Oh, right. Because not only has Jay been keeping secrets, Zane has. Zane! He apparently thinks he's a robot, and Master Wu told him he was going to leave. Do you know how much time I've spent worrying about Sensei?!"

Zane frowns. "I do not just think I am an android, Kai. I am, indeed, a robot."

Kai looks like he's going to blow up again, but Skylor stops him. "I know this is upsetting for you, Kai, but we need to focus on finding Nya. Going on a rant will not help us do that."

"But – "

"No 'but's', Kai." Her tone is no-nonsense.

He sighs miserably. "Fine, but this isn't over. Jay, tell us about Cliff Gordon."

"You don't have to say it so begrudgingly."

Kai's expression sours. "Jay, tell us about Cliff Gordon, or so help me, I will – "

"Enough!" Skylor howls, slapping her hand over Kai's mouth. "Just give it a blow already, or I will literally mute you. I have the power of sound!" She turns to Jay. "Tell us what you know, please."

"Well, um, so...funny story." He laughs nervously. "You guys wanna know who my birth dad is?"

"No," Zane replies, frowning. "We actually wanted to know who Cliff Gordon is."

"I'm getting there. Okay, so what if I told you...that I'm Cliff's biological son?"

We all blink. Well, except Kai – he scoffs.

Skylor raises an eyebrow, uncovering his mouth. "You just spit all over me."

https://youtu.be/bPkOPnmMpH0

"It's not like we don't swap spit all the time!" Kai turns on Jay. "This isn't the time for jokes. This is about my sister! Why did I ever let you date her? You can't take anything seriously!"

"I am being serious!" Jay cries, bristling. "Cliff Gordon's my birth dad. She could very well be staying with him – I mean, she has tried to get my dad and me in contact over the past two months. He's sent me a few letters and stuff, and even though I've been kind of scared to write back, she's helped me do it."

"Okay," Lloyd says in his matter-of-fact tone. "In that case, Kai, Skylor, and I will stay at the police station once we arrive. The rest of you need to set up a visit with Cliff Gordon. If he knows Nya's with him, maybe he'll outright tell us. If not, it's possible he'll let us search his house."

"He owns a lot of properties," Jay adds. "Nya could be anywhere over Ninjago City. She could even be a few hours out of the city – I think Cliff has a beach house or two."

"No matter what, we start by talking to your birth dad." Lloyd looks at the GPS. "We're a few minutes out from the police station. There's not any sort of a good landing area, so we'll have to extend the ladder. Everyone in your seats!"

Kai growls. "Why can't I go with them to get my sister?!"

Skylor rolls her eyes. "Do you really need to ask that question? At least we have a direction now, Kai. You're not going because you're ready to burn Jay alive."

He sighs, but gives her an exhausted smile. "Not a bad idea." He creates a small flame in his hand, then snuffs it out when he sees her unamused expression.

After we drop off Kai, Skylor, and Lloyd, we all fly back to the monastery. Apparently, Jay doesn't have Cliff's number programmed into his phone, so he has to go through some old mail and emails to find it. I end up helping him: Jay takes the email while I go through the snail mail.

Most of the letters are from Ed and Edna, so I just toss those envelopes aside. They're the kind of people to send Jay messages by mail, call every night, text every mealtime...

I don't think he knows how lucky he is.

I frown down at an envelope. "Some of these letters look like job opportunities from Ignacia, Jay. Aren't those for Nya? How did they get mixed up with your stuff?"

"I...might have hid...a few pieces of mail from her." He coughs. "But only from the job opportunities that looked kind of shady."

"Does a job as a waitress sound that bad? This one says it's a restaurant with living quarters for some of its single employees."

"Did you smell the envelope?"

"No. Why?"

Jay shakes his head. "It's been spritzed with perfume, which means two things: First, the accommodations there are actually just places for girls to be paid to...um...have you-know-what. And I would die before I let Nya be degraded like that." His scowl is fierce. "And second...she's allergic to perfume, so she should stay away from anywhere where it's commonly used."

"She's allergic to perfume?"

"Yeah, but she takes medication to help stop the reactions. Do you realize that perfume could actually kill her?! That reminds me..." He begins typing on the computer. "I meant to buy a couple of practice epinephrine pens – that don't contain any medicine, of course – so all of us could practice administering it to her, just in case."

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you stalling? Because that's a stupid excuse not to be looking for your birth dad's number."

"No, it's not. I want to protect Nya, and to prove it, let me quote to you one of the twenty-six allergy articles I've been memorizing. 'In case of anaphylactic shock, the weapon of choice is – '"

I place a hand on his arm. "Jay, please stop hiding. You're scared of calling your birth dad, aren't you?"

"No."

I eye him. "Yes, you are."

"Okay, maybe I am!" He admits. "But what if he doesn't like me, Cole? What if he thinks I'm annoying or ugly or useless or..." He sighs. "What if I let myself think he loves me, and then he kicks me to the curb? I can't stand losing the people I love anymore, Cole."

I rub his shoulder reassuringly. "That's why you have to talk to him, Jay. If you don't, you could lose Nya."

He swallows hard. "I don't even know what kind of person he is, Cole. What if she went to him for help, but he's hurt her somehow? Or what if he's actually a serial killer, and he's reenacting one of his old movies, but the catch is that she's the victim, and it's all real?!"

https://youtu.be/ziobtd9JTtk

His eyes bug, and he immediately goes back to looking through his email.

I shake my head. Well, his ideas may be unfounded, but at least he's determined to find Nya again.

I see job offers from more restaurants, blacksmith's shops, and liveries. Nya must have put a lot of time into this.

There's one with a pink envelope that stands out to me. "This one says it's from Sunny Lui. Any idea who that is?"

Jay shrugs. "No clue. Probably junk mail."

"It doesn't look like junk mail."

"Is it a job offer? If so, throw it away, please. Nya wouldn't want to work for someone named 'Sunny'."

I raise an eyebrow. "This is your way of trying to get her to stay."

"No." He blushes. "Fine, fine. You've got me there. Oh, look! I found it – my birth dad's phone number!" He grabs his smartphone and quickly taps in the digits.

I finger one last letter in the pile. This one's for Nya, too, but a lot of the information is smudged out. I can't read the return address, and I can't even make out most of the sender's name. I squint at the one word I can understand on the envelope.

https://youtu.be/7ye6xa-k-MQ

"It says it's from some doctor," I muse. "Huh." I toss the envelope to the side. Maybe Nya requested her medical records or something.

When I look up, I see Jay is holding his breath while he waits for his birth father to pick up. I give him a pat on the back in reassurance.

"Don't worry, buddy," I smile. "Nya's fine, and I'm sure you'll get along well with your birth dad." Well, not really, but I'm staying positive.

Jay clenches his eyes shut. "Um, hi. I'm...uh...Jay Walker, Cliff Gordon's son." He nods. "Oh, you're his secretary? That's nice. I didn't know my dad had a secretary. Um, but anyway, I need to speak with Mr. Gordon, please." His eyes pop open. "He's told you about me? Aww, that's sweet. Um, but I really should be talking to him." His expression brightens. "He's going to be in the next Fritz Donegan movie?!"

I elbow him. "Remember the serial killer scenario," I hiss.

He panics. "Um, listen, I really, really, really need to talk to Mr. Gordon. Can you please put him on the line? Thanks." He inhales deeply, his fingers trembling.

Cliff's voice is loud enough for me to hear on the other end of the phone. "Son?"

Jay's voice comes out wobbly. "Hey...Dad."

***(Seliel's POV)***

"Cole's going to be here in fifteen minutes," I hear Nya say.

I struggle to open my eyes and sit up in bed. "Thanks," I say groggily. "Didn't realize I'd slept so long."

"Just don't get used to me being your human alarm."

https://youtu.be/YrhCpMagabU

Nya reclines against the doorway, crossing her arms. "So I took apart one of the tech weapons we found. It's running on its own electrical power, it seems. And it's really easy to shock yourself with. The administered shock is stronger than when Jay accidentally electrocutes the team at practice."

"Weird. Find anything else?"

"Not much. It's almost like the weapon doesn't want to be taken apart. Once I got zapped hard enough, I left it alone. I'll probably just ask Jay to tinker around with it when I get back to the monastery – if you'll let me bring it there, of course."

"It's not mine," I shrug. "I couldn't care less what you do with it." I crawl out of bed and head to the restroom.

A few minutes later, I emerge, a little more collected and ready to go out. Nya's currently hiding underneath my bed.

"You're totally exposed down there," I smirk. "Cole will see you. Here." I position my blanket messily so it hangs in front of her face.

"Hey! I can't see anything," she growls.

"That's the point, stupid."

https://youtu.be/YrhCpMagabU

She pulls the blanket away, pokes her head out, and sticks out her tongue. "You need to work on your insults. I'm not stupid. Find something that fits me better, please."

"Pint-sized? After all, you are three inches shorter than me."

https://youtu.be/YrhCpMagabU

"More like two and three-quarters."

I start to clap back at her, but the rumble of a vehicle sounds outside. Our eyes bug.

"It's Cole," Nya hisses. "Get out of here before you blow my cover!"

"I'm going," I whisper-shout back. I head into the kitchenette and grab an apple, forcing myself to take a bite.

Cole's knock on the door comes a moment later.

"Come in," I yell, not bothering to get up.

He pushes his way inside and smiles. "Hey, Sel. How are you?"

"Fine," I shrug. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure." He nods. "Sorry that I'm a little early. I was on the way back from visiting Jay's birth dad. We thought Nya might be hiding out with him, but nothing's panned out so far."

"Sorry," I say, hitching a shoulder. I can't help the guilt that threads its way through me.

"Anyway," he smiles, "how was your day?"

"Not bad." I casually gravitate toward the door, hoping he doesn't see right through my façade. I can't have him knowing that Nya's here.

"Not bad?" he asks. "You can do better than that. I want to know everything."

"There's not much to know. But what you were saying about Jay visiting his birth dad sounded cool."

"Yeah. He's never actually met him before today, and he was really scared at first. I hardly even got him to talk on the phone today with Cliff – that's his bio-dad's name. Cliff Gordon, the movie star." He chuckles. "I had no idea."

"A movie star? That sounds interesting." I'm not really listening – I just noticed that there's a metal piece left on the table from where Nya disassembled that weapon earlier.

I seriously hope Cole doesn't look in that direction.

"Yeah, a movie star," Cole laughs. "Anyway, Jay was persuaded to call when I sort of convinced him that his dad was a serial killer and he'd kidnapped Nya."

"Oh, nice one." I prop open the door with my hip. We need to get out of here before Cole sees that piece left from the weaponry and starts asking questions! If Cole knew I was keeping Nya's hideout a secret from him, he'd never forgive me!

I mean, Jay technically did the same thing yesterday, and Cole seems to be on great terms with him now, but me? Would Cole be willing to excuse my deception so easily? Or is he just looking for a reason to boot me out of his life?

I don't know that I can take that – not after I finally let someone into my messed-up mind and my broken heart.

He follows me out the door, still chattering happily, and I sigh with relief.

I dodged a bullet this time.

Once we arrive at the doctor's office and fill out a lot of paperwork, Cole essentially tells me that we're getting me health insurance as soon as possible. I don't have the money for that, so I hope his team has deep pockets.

The office isn't too busy this evening, which is nice. It's still a long wait – I forgot how long you have to sit around waiting when you go to the doctor.

Eventually, though, a lady in scrubs appears in the doorway and calls my name. Well, more like stumbles over my name. I didn't think 'Seliel' was that hard to pronounce. And if doctors and nurses, some of the supposedly smartest people, can't pronounce it? That's not a good sign. Why am I coming to them for healthcare again?

Cole stops beside me at the door. "Um, do you want me to go back with you? I..."

I shrug. "Whatever. Not really concerned either way." As long as they weigh me outside the office room. My weight is a number I don't want Cole to see.

But there's a set of scales in the corner, so I shouldn't have my weight taken in my room with him watching.

The nurse leads us back to a room with a door exactly like every other one in this hall. Unless the doctors here all have photographic memories like me, I really doubt they can find their way around. They probably give patients the wrong diagnoses all the time. Again, why am I entrusting them with my health?!

Cole ends up staying in the room while I go with my nurse to get my weight checked. I take a huge breath and clench my eyes shut. This isn't going to be pretty. I so badly don't want to know the number, but at the same time...

I so badly do.

Surprisingly, the nurse says nothing. After a moment of waiting, I can't stand it – I open my eyes to see what she's doing.

She types something into a computerized form and prepares to measure my height.

I swallow. "Um, not that I want to know the number you put in that computer or anything" – though I kind of do – "but...you haven't mentioned my BMI or anything. Is that bad?"

She shakes her head, smiling. "No. Let me input your height, okay? And then the computer will calculate your BMI for us."

Oh, snap.

She hums happily, hitting a few keys on the keyboard. A moment later, she grins over at me. "Your weight's within your BMI. Are you scared of the actual number?"

I blink. "Um, no, I..." I had no idea I'd lost that much weight. "Are you sure there's not a mistake?"

She doublechecks the numbers. "Nope, you're good. You can head on back over to your room."

"O-okay." I bite my lip as I make the trek back to the examination room.

Is she lying to me to make me feel better? Are medical personnel even allowed to do that?

Because I know I can't be in my BMI.

"Hey," Cole beams as I walk in. "Done so soon?"

"Yep." I say nothing else. I don't have much else to say that I'm comfortable with him hearing.

"Everything all right?" he asks.

"Yeah." No.

"Okay." He moves on. "On the bright side, this visit shouldn't take too long. You're already up to date on all your shots from the clinic in Nom, so it should just be checking your reflexes and stuff. And examining your leg, of course."

"Yeah." I look at my fingernails. "Cole?"

"Yes?"

"I know you call me hot and all, which is nice, but I need your honest opinion about something."

He stands and comes to my side. "What is it?"

I use my hands to push myself up onto the cushioned examination table, and I just sit there for a moment.

"What's up, Sel?" he asks softly.

I sigh. "Do you think I'm fat?"

"This again?" His smile is sad. "Of course, not. That may be what you see, but you're not fat, Seliel. If the nurse told you that, I have two things to tell you. First, she got your numbers wrong. Second...where is she so I can tell her off in the nicest way possible?"

I shake my head. "No, the nurse didn't tell me that. She said I was in my BMI. Do you think that's true?"

"Yes. Seliel, you're not fat. If she were your height, Nya would probably weigh about the same as you."

I scoff. "No way."

"Yes, way. She's really muscular, and like you, she has more of an athlete's build than a skinny figure. Would you call her fat?"

"No, and she'd probably kill me if I did."

"You're right. She's not fat, and she would kill you." He smiles. "So don't feel bad about yourself, Seliel. Your mind is telling you lies."

I stare into his sincere brown eyes for a long moment. Cole seems like he's being purely honest with me. Is it possible that I am lying to myself?

The doctor knocks once, then comes right in. She introduces herself before running a few basic drills. She listens to my heartbeat, looks up my nose (I better not have anything nasty up there), and shines a light in my mouth.

And then we get to the part where Cole tells her about my leg injury. Oh, I've been looking forward to this, in the most sarcastic sense of the phrase.

She frowns as she examines my shin. "I'm in no way in expert on leg injuries, but it seems pretty clear to me that you fractured your tibia, it healed wrong, and you're now suffering from malunion."

"Which means?" Cole asks.

My heart falls. "It means that I broke my leg, and since I didn't get it fixed back in February, it didn't heal back right."

The doctor nods. "And I'll set you up with a specialist, but most likely, you'll have to have your leg broken and reset correctly."

"Which is just fantastic. I'll be off my feet for who knows how long." I sigh.

Great. So not only do I depend on Cole and his team to pay my bills and teach me to defend myself and possibly let me live with them, now they'll have to pay for my crazy expensive surgery. And I won't be able to work for a long while after I get my leg reset.

"Sorry, Sel," Cole says. "Don't worry, though: You can move in with the guys and I, and we'll take care of you as long as – "

"I don't want to hear it." I slide off the table. "Are we done here?"

The doctor holds up a finger, scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Let me give you the name and contact information of the specialist I have in mind. He should have office hours tomorrow, so any time between eight and three will probably be fine to call him."

Instead of letting me answer, Cole slings an arm around my shoulders. "Will do. Take care." He takes the sheet of paper from the woman, and we walk out together.

I shrug out of his touch. "I see that look on your face, and I don't want to talk about this."

"We're going to have to at some point, you know. We should get your operation done as soon as possible, Sel."

"I said that I'm not talking about this. We'll discuss it tomorrow."

He raises his eyebrows, surprised at my outburst. "Okay. You can go wait in the car while I pay, if you want."

"That's where I'm headed." I march out to the fixer-upper vehicle (which I now recognize as his best friend's) and plop down inside. I briefly consider getting in the driver's seat – the First Spinjitzu Master knows I could use a chance to drive – but given that this is Cole's friend's car, I have a feeling me driving won't work out.

I sigh, banging my head against the window. "Why am I so helpless?" I moan. Tears gather in my eyes.

I hate this feeling.

"I take care of myself all my life," I swallow, "and one stupid night in February, my dad up and decides he needs to chase me with a knife. And now, I'm just done. I'm out. Down for the count. I'm not doing life anymore tonight! I'm leaving all my homework undone. I'm just going to go home and fall into bed, then – "

Cole suddenly opens the door beside me, and I jump.

"You okay?" he frowns.

Yes. No. "I will be." After I kick myself for being so worthless.

"All right. I'm here to talk, if you need me."

"Talking is the last thing on my mind, Brookstone."

To his credit, he doesn't respond. We drive back to my trailer in absolute silence.

"Let me check inside for you," he suggests, putting the vehicle in park.

I roll my eyes. "I'm fine, Cole. Let me do something for myself while I still can."

"I only want to make sure there isn't a burglar around," he says placatingly. "Or your father. You wouldn't want to be stuck inside with him, right?"

And that's the last straw.

I rip my house key out of my pocket, shoving open my door. "I don't want to be stuck in here with you!" I run to my mobile home's door, breathing raggedly. I twist the key in the lock with shaky fingers.

Cole tries to yell something after me, but I already have the house door closed and locked behind me. I bury my face in my hands, melting into a ball on the floor.

I hear a knock. "Sel? Sel, please let me in. We can talk about this."

I don't answer. I can't. Not going to happen. I've already let myself depend on others enough lately.

"Sel?" Cole knocks once more.

Why won't he leave me alone?

I hear him sigh outside. "Get a good night's rest, okay? I'll pick you up for school in the morning."

And we still will not be talking about my injuries – my weakness – then.

I hear his steps fall down the walkway. Then, his friend's car rumbles as he climbs inside and drives it away.

Away from me. Out of my life. Where I want him right now.

Right?

I wipe at the stupid tears filling my eyes and shove my house keys back in my pocket, heading for my bedroom. All I want to do is –

The bedroom light flicks on right as I enter, and I'm met with the yellowed grin and soulless eyes of my lousy father.

"Hello, Seliel," he spits.

https://youtu.be/cphNpqKpKc4

***Well, ya see...THAT happened.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? ;)***